Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Trading Down 0.7%

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) was down 0.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $65.50 and last traded at $66.46. Approximately 895,707 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 5,913,449 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James lifted their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $37.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $32.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -72.24 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.04.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25). During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.26) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total transaction of $691,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 269,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total value of $7,230,152.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,184,882 shares in the company, valued at $58,707,779.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 30,000 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $691,500.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 359,079 shares of company stock worth $9,461,153. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 4,817 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 0.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,575 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 39,321 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 20.7% in the second quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 4,526 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company's lead drug candidate is VK2809, an orally available tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRß), which is in Phase IIb clinical trials to treat patients with biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, as well as NAFLD.